October 24, 2018 6:19 PM

What’s it like having your linebacker partner K.J. Wright back at practice?

Wagner: “He brings a lot to the team. Another guy who has been through so much, been through the up and downs of this team, this organization. He has so much experience. (He’s) an extremely, extremely smart football player, very instinctive. We’ve been playing together for seven years, so we have a communication that can’t be replicated. He makes plays and he’s going to make adjustments and things of that nature. I’m extremely excited to have him back. I think the last time you saw him, he was making big hits and all that stuff, so that’s what I’m expecting from him."

This new-look Seahawks’ secondary is starting to build a big-hitting reputation around the league. What have you seen from the group?

Wagner: “If you throw a pick to a corner, it’s going to remind you of Sherm (Richard Sherman). If you get a big hit across the middle, you’re going to think of Kam (Chancellor). I think it’s definitely dope from their standpoint that they left such a huge impression that every time something like that happens, you think of them. It also gives them an opportunity to show that they are able to do some of the same things, even if it’s not how they do it – or did it.”

What aspects of head coach Pete Carroll’s coaching style have allowed the Seahawks to be solid defensively each year, especially when you look at the group this season that has so many new faces?

Wagner: “I think it’s just a very free defense. I think it’s a simple defense. There’s a lot of moving parts, but at the end of the day, if you really do your homework, you know where certain guys are going to be. If you have the communication and you’re comfortable with the guys you’re playing with, it allows you to play fast. That’s the name of the game, who could play the fastest and who can execute the defense. I think that’s what allows us to be so great because all the great defenses have a close bond and are able to talk to each other, able to get on each other. Nobody’s too high or too low to be held accountable and I think that’s what makes us so great – whether it’s myself, whether it’s K.J. (Wright), you can be held accountable and somebody can hold you accountable.

"There’s no ego and we all want to be great. I think what made us so good in those years, was everybody wanted to be great at their position. Wanting to be great at your individual position makes the defense great as a unit, and I think that’s what everybody’s trying to do.”

CTE’s (Chronic Traumatic Encepelophathy) link to football has been a hot topic in recent years. How have you approached navigating the discussion and taking care of yourself with the concerns of playing a physical sport?

Wagner: “I think it’s just something that you have to be conscious of, especially when you understand you’re playing a very physical sport – you have to take even more necessary things to make sure your body is good. Maybe you don’t drink, maybe you don’t do this, maybe you eat better – all those different things. It’s obviously a real thing, something that you have to be conscious of and do your homework on. You can’t just trust everything someone says, whether it’s good, bad or indifferent, you have to do your own homework, you have to put in the work. That’s kind of my opinion on that. … When you get new information like that, you can’t just believe what you here, you have to take it upon yourself to go and get your own perspective of the information, and you go off of that.

“I have a hyperbaric chamber, which is really, really good for the brain. You just do certain things that you feel will help. You never know what is going to happen, but little things like that. … Just like you want to work out your body, you want to work out your legs, you want to take care of your knees and all that stuff, your brains a muscle too so you want to take care of that as well.”

CTE’s (Chronic Traumatic Encepelophathy) link to football has been a hot topic in recent years. How have you approached navigating the discussion and taking care of yourself with the concerns of playing a ... more

What’s it like having your linebacker partner K.J. Wright back at practice?

Wagner: “He brings a lot to the team. Another guy who has been through so much, been through the up and downs of this team, this organization. He has so much experience. (He’s) an extremely, extremely smart football player, very instinctive. We’ve been playing together for seven years, so we have a communication that can’t be replicated. He makes plays and he’s going to make adjustments and things of that nature. I’m extremely excited to have him back. I think the last time you saw him, he was making big hits and all that stuff, so that’s what I’m expecting from him."